William Kilgore

William "Bill" Kilgore (1921-) was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the US Army who commanded the 1st Battalion, 9th Air Cavalry Regiment during the Vietnam War.

Biography
William Kilgore was born in California in 1921, and he served in the US Arrmy during World War II. Kilgore rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the air cavalry, and he was known for his love for his soldiers and his out-of-tune methods. A surfing enthusiast, he ordered an attack on the Vietnamese town of Vin Drin Dop in 1969, taking the town after a helicopter assault. Kilgore was known to play Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" from his helicopters to scare the Vietnamese villagers, and he ordered two men to surf the beach as the fighting took place. Kilgore took his shirt off and prepared to surf after the battle, but a napalm strike ruined the winds and led to him being unable to surf.